News

Molly Saunders achieves the Registered Scientist award

22 August 2024

Congratulatons to Molly Saunders RSci MAAPT who is the latest APT to achieve Science Council registration

Well done Molly who participated in a Q&A with the AAPT after achieving the Registered Scientist award

Did you find the on-line application process easy to navigate?

Yes, the application process was easy to navigate. There was plenty of information throughout and guidance documents that made the application easy to follow, particularly being a new process to APTs. 

What was your main reason for applying for professional registration?

I was happy to see our profession being recognised enough to allow us to become registered professionals, and I knew I wanted to apply as soon as it became available. I feel that it will enhance career prospects, APT visibility (as a job role) and provide more opportunity for CPD.

I also understand that this will become a requirement for trainee APTs upon Level 3 completion. As a mentor, I felt it appropriate to have the registration to act as a role model of professionalism and to guide them when it comes to their application. 

The AAPT provided guidance documents and other useful references within the AAPT website. Did you find these useful as you completed the application?

The guidance documents were helpful to understand what it is the Science Council/AAPT were looking for to become registered. They explained what was needed for each competence, which helped when it came to writing them. It allowed me to keep on track and ensure I completed it to a high standard. 

The commitment to the standards expected of a Registered Scientist are considerable and provide parity for APTs with technical and scientific colleagues across the UK. Once the award is achieved it must then be maintained through CPD and adherence to the standards. Is this daunting or a new professional challenge to overcome?

I believe commitment to upholding registration will come with some challenges due to how new it is for APTs, however, it's a challenge to overcome. With time, dedication, support from colleagues/AAPT and through continuing to develop, I feel that upholding registration will quickly become the norm. 

Next step assessing Level 3 students?

Assessing Level 3 students is something I may consider in the future, depending on workload within the Mortuary, as it would be a great way to contribute to CPD. 

Any tips and hints for other APTs who wish to apply?

For anyone thinking about applying, I encourage you to do so. Utilise the guidance and example answers when completing the application to fully understand what they are looking for. I also found that making bullet points about what I wanted to talk about before writing the paragraphs for each competency was helpful.

This allowed me to keep to the point of what I needed to show for each competency.